"............"
Vaguely.
Katia was gazing at the scenery outside the window.
They were currently at the Church Headquarters.
The battle at the Hidden Cathedral had ended, and they were supposed to remain at the church for recovery, rest, and to plan their future strategy — a perfectly routine course of action.
——But the scene unfolding below was anything but routine.
"His Holiness the Pope has...!? What in the world — you can't be serious!?"
"I-I don't know... but the Pope's closest aide certainly said so... and what's more, some of the people had even sided with the rebellion!"
"Impossible... who are we supposed to follow from here on out...?"
"All the Archbishops have been defeated and imprisoned, haven't they...? What on earth are we supposed to do...?"
That was how it was.
This battle had been between the Archbishop faction and the Pope faction. Naturally, everyone had assumed that "one side would win," and that the victor would unify the church.
And yet, once the dust had settled, every single member of the Archbishop faction had been defeated — and furthermore,
the Pope
had vanished.
On top of that, absurd rumors — though they were in fact true — were spreading that the Pope had turned against the Kingdom.
To put it bluntly... the entire church had been thrown into the utmost state of confusion.
No — not just the entire church. The neutral nobles who had likewise lost their leader... and many of the nobles of the Third Princess's faction as well. All of them were at a loss for what to follow, what to do. Some were bewildered; others were opportunistically eyeing their own advantage amid the chaos.
With no one left to hold things together, the clash of competing interests meant that every single person currently in this Church Headquarters had no idea what they should be doing.
For the time being, the northern nobles under Lucius's command were keeping things from descending into outright catastrophe — but no one knew how long that could hold.
...Yes. That was precisely why.
At times like these, she had to stand up properly. That was how Katia steeled herself.
That was the very reason she had been permitted to live a better life than others. This was the position of a "Duchess" — to rise up and lead everyone in times like these.
Even if it was undoubtedly an unprecedented national crisis.
Even if every reliable adult had disappeared without exception.
...Even if her only family — her father — had been revealed to be their enemy.
It didn't matter.
She had decided she would become a noble of unwavering pride. If that was the case, she must not stop at a time like this. She had to take the lead, step forward, and guide the other nobles.
This time, for certain, in times like this — she had to be the very first to stand up.
"I'll... do it... I have to!"
Her own mental state was irrelevant. If she didn't do what needed to be done when it needed to be done, then she hadn't changed at all from who she used to be. So, no matter what, she would do it.
Having steeled herself thus, she began dragging her inexplicably heavy feet forward, trying to resume her stride toward rallying the nobles — and that was when.
"—— Oh, there you are, there you are! It's been a while, Katia!"
——A voice so bright and loud it was entirely out of place.
She turned, and there, as expected, stood.
"...Rose... Your Ladyship..."
Even among the many events that had occurred within the Hidden Cathedral, this was one of the greatest surprises. She had known of her existence, but had never expected her to appear on the main stage.
Rose, the "Sky Witch," stood there with a carefree smile on her face.
"Two, three months since we last met? I feel like you've grown a bit taller since then. I checked out your magic too — looks like you've been training really hard after all that!"
"E-Your Ladyship, Rose, I, uh——"
Katia tried to respond as Rose closed in on her, her confusion plain on her face.
She was glad that Rose's warmth toward her hadn't changed, but now was hardly the time — or so she tried to say.
"——!?"
But before she could, she was physically stopped. ...The approaching Rose had seized her momentum and pulled Katia into a hug.
"Mhm, yep, you've definitely grown taller. Kids grow up so fast... But I'm relieved — your performance as a body pillow seems unchanged. Man, you really are comfortable to hold, you rival El. Well, to be fair, the only kids I've ever used as body pillows are El and you!"
"Your... Ladyship!"
...That was going too far, even as a joke.
She tried to forcibly break free, but Rose showed no sign of loosening her grip. If anything, she held tighter, wrapping one arm around Katia's back and placing her other hand on her head... gently stroking her hair.
——As if soothing her.
"............Rose... Your Ladyship?"
"Your face."
When Katia, sensing something was off, asked what she meant, Rose's tone shifted entirely to something earnest and soft.
"You had such a terrible look on your face. Confused, completely exhausted... and yet driven by a sense of duty you couldn't stop, moving your feet even while on the verge of collapse."
"..."
"People like that almost always end up doing something reckless. I know that all too well.
...Theta used to have that same look, a long time ago."
"——!!"
When that name was mentioned,
Katia could hardly ignore it, and her struggles ceased.
As if in response, Rose drew her even closer, and beyond her head, began rubbing her back as well. Gently dissolving the tension that had unconsciously seized her body.
"Hey, Katia. Let me say something obvious. ...You're only fifteen years old."
"But — but, but —!"
"Yeah, I know. You're the daughter of a Duchy, and this country is in a state of emergency. On top of that, this place could descend into uncontrollable chaos at any moment, and it's undeniably true that time is desperately short."
Having preemptively laid out all of Katia's reasons to hurry, all her reasons to object —
"——So, I'll give you just thirty minutes."
"...Eh?"
"Thirty minutes — that's all. During that time, you can let it all out however you like. You can cry, you can lament. There's no need to hold it in, no point in enduring.
...If this is the kind of country that can't even give a fifteen-year-old girl that much time, citing her position as the reason — then I'd be pretty seriously thinking that country ought to just hurry up and collapse."
With that characteristic turn of phrase,
the Sky Witch offered this stubborn girl — this girl who still didn't know how to lean on anyone properly — a time-limited reprieve, being careful not to stimulate her guilt, and said in a gentle voice:
"So, go on."
And spoke words of absolution.
"For now, just — lean on me as much as you need, okay?"
"I — um, ah—"
Even so, Katia tried to resist.
She tried to say thank you, to offer only her gratitude, to gently push Rose's arms away, to tell herself she should do what she had to do as quickly as possible, and to act on that —
But.
"...ah"
For some reason,
tears began to spill.
"A — ah—"
She pressed her face against Rose's dress to hide them, and the soft, warm, enveloping warmth seeped into her chilled body. The scent of flowers dissolved her heart.
And then.
"—————!!"
She wept.
Because she was simply, overwhelmingly sad.
"Why...! Why, Father...!!"
He had been her only family.
They had both been too busy to find time for conversation, but she had believed their hearts were connected.
Her ultimate ideal was still the image of her mother preserved in memory —
But the path necessary to reach that ideal, the figure she should aspire to become —
The back she should follow toward her ideal... had always, always been her father, Yurugen.
She had respected his manner of seeming cold yet always thinking deeply about the well-being of others.
She had admired how he never forgot familial bonds even when forced to make ruthless decisions, how he quietly but surely showered her with affection.
From the past, and into the future.
She had believed he would watch over her as she pursued her ideals.
And yet.
"I realized it. No matter how I tried to cover it up, put on a mask, or deceive myself —
— My true nature is, beyond any help,
hatred."
In a voice colder than any she had ever heard. With eyes more ruthless than any she had ever seen —
She had witnessed Yurugen looking at her.
"... Ah, what a beautiful soul you have, no matter how many times I see it. Clear, radiant, brimming with warm feelings —"
The true nature that her beloved father had hidden beneath it all.
"— It makes me sick. You were someone I could never understand to the end, Katia."
Words of absolute, final separation. She had heard them spoken.
"Ahhhhhhhh...!"
She was sad, sad, sad, so overwhelmingly sad.
That single emotion alone was more than enough to shatter the heart of a mere fifteen-year-old girl. It was nothing she could possibly contain within herself.
And so she let it all out.
She yielded to the kindness of this gentle witch who had given her a reprieve. She poured out the sorrow filling her chest, utterly and completely. She externalized what felt like a lifetime's worth of grief, hurling all her helpless frustration from the bottom of her heart out into this world.
Why? Because it was obvious.
Only after emptying everything within her heart, until nothing remained —
— Could she fill her heart once more with new, necessary feelings.
◆
"Feeling calmer?"
"Um, well, yes..."
Exactly thirty minutes later.
Having cried to the point of a mild headache, Katia pulled away from Rose.
Her beautiful dress was crumpled and damp with tears, but Rose paid that no mind whatsoever, regarding her with an expression of worry that was rare for her.
That concern, combined with the embarrassment of having clung to someone, made Katia want to avert her eyes — but even so.
"...I'm fine."
Katia looked Rose straight in the eye and answered.
Not bravado, not pretense. Words spoken from the depths of genuine pride.
"Thank you. — I can stand up again now."
In her eyes —
Weak though they were, still exhausted as she was —
...There dwelled a certain, unmistakable light, just as her words declared.
"Is that so. ...That's wonderful."
Rose smiled and replied in kind. She offered this small girl her wholehearted admiration and respect.
And then added:
"But if you can make that kind of look in your eyes again... then perhaps you've already figured it out?"
"Yes. In that sense, the timing was perfect. There's something I need to ask you first, Lady Rose."
Katia's words carried an almost certain premonition. Rose, once more respecting her acumen, said:
"Well then, I'll be straightforward as you'd expect. Fortunately, there's no need to lie."
Rose spoke quietly, firmly:
"——
The one who
summoned me
to that place
was Yurugen."
"——"
Though she had anticipated as much, the shock was still unavoidable.
As Katia looked at her, trembling slightly, eyes wide —
"I should say, I didn't have the full picture either. I can't read everything that man thinks — his purposes, his inner feelings — and nobody else can either, except maybe himself."
"...Yes."
"With that said, I'll tell you everything I know and can say right now.
So — what you do with that information is up to you, Katia."
A conversation about the future. And so she began that first step from the bottom.
From here, the story transitions into the latter half of the third chapter, focusing on the children.
I hope you'll stay to watch what decisions they make.